Danish Royal Family Christmas: 2003, 2004, 2006-2014, 2016-2023


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A lot of care and dedication went into the making of that advent wreath!
 
eya said:
Today 5 December:

"The Crown Prince Family’s two four-legged members, Grace and Coco, must also know that it’s Christmas! See what’s hidden in the dogs’ Christmas stockings, which hang on the family’s mantel."

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClxnqWgjsKv/
Click to expand...

What a delightful video. Also because we get a glimpse into the home of M&F and how they furnish it - says a lot about the occupants.
And well behaved dogs - meaning their owners take a lot of interest in them and invest a lot of time on them. I understand that breed is very intelligent and needs to be stimulated but also a firm hand.
I suspect Mary may have taken on most of the work with the dogs, she has preciously mentioned en passant, that she ends up doing whatever needs to be done, rather than the children, who have all sort of excuses...
- Been there myself. Our Sanne is lying a couple of meters away, taking a well deserved nap after her afternoon nap. No doubt exhausted from having been training dad in throwing frisbees yesterday.

An Ard Ri said:
A lot of care and dedication went into the making of that advent wreath!
Click to expand...

The advent wreath is a custom that came to DK from Germany in the early 1900s.

The special thing about the archetypical Danish advent wreath, when suspended, is that the candles are more often than not white with the ribbons the wreath is hanging from being red - the national colors: Red and white.
Like this guy here:
https://media.lex.dk/media/255/standard_adventskrans.jpg
 
Muhler said:
...
I suspect Mary may have taken on most of the work with the dogs, she has preciously mentioned en passant, that she ends up doing whatever needs to be done, rather than the children, who have all sort of excuses...

https://media.lex.dk/media/255/standard_adventskrans.jpg
Click to expand...

Oh but Vincent has clarified that that is not true, "he helps...sometimes" :whistling:
https://everythingroyalty.tumblr.co...4/prince-vincent-of-denmark-on-his-mama-crown
https://64.media.tumblr.com/0952a4f...1392a2326f8a92730e6f31c215cf1dcfe80a8cae.gifv
:lol:

This calendar is very cute and informative I say.
 
Gorgeous house, video, and doggos -although Coco still needs more training. A crazy dog lady like me thinks that only two dogs for 4 children is not enough, but it's indeed likely that CP Mary is the only one really looking after them. :lol:
 
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Today 6 December:


"I f you have a reason to visit or speak with someone in The Royal House of Denmark, you can contact the Court Telephone in The Yellow Palace at Amalienborg. The Court Telephone attends to all incoming and outgoing calls to and from The Royal Family and The Royal House of Denmark’s employees, and, at the same time, functions as a reception that receives guests who are going to meetings or similar appointments at Amalienborg.
In the old days, the Court Telephone was called the Court Telegraph and was housed in an apartment in Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg. It was HM The Queen who decided to rename the Court Telegraph as the Court Telephone nearly 10 years ago.
When you ring the Court Telephone, you don’t meet up with a customary waiting tone. Instead, the fanfare “Her kommer Jens med fanen” (“Here comes Jens with the flag”) plays until the call is answered at the other end. Hear how it sounds, and see the route to the Court Telephone office in the video below."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl0NT9CjCHf/
 
Today 7 December:

"The guard must obviously also know that it’s Christmas ...
With the motto “Pro Rege et Grege” (“For King and People”), The Royal Life Guard stands watch over the royal palaces year-round. In fact, the Life Guard has stood watch at Amalienborg ever since 1794, and, in Christian VII’s Palace, there are guardrooms where the servicemen can both ready their uniforms and weapons or take a short rest between their guard duty periods.
When the bearskin hats come off, the guards, of course, also enjoy some Christmas coziness, and peppernuts and warm cocoa are never allowed to remain untouched for long.
Through generations, the royal family has always had the tradition of wishing “Merry Christmas” to the guards on duty on 24 December. Thus, also in the short video clip, in which the peace of Christmas has descended upon the guards at Amalienborg on Christmas Eve 1940, and Christian X, Queen Alexandra, Crown Prince Frederik (IX) and Crown Princess Ingrid have stopped by to extend greetings before the Christmas dinner."



https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl2w5djjomJ/
 
Thanks, Eya.

The guardsmen are pretty huge! I guess they are from the tallest company.
The guardsmen are divided into companies (actually platoons in terms of the real size) depending on their height. The company with smallest guardsmen are called "The Smurfs."

The watch on Christmas Eve is sought after and there is never a lack of volunteers for that watch. It's not a sought after as the watch on New Years Eve, but close.

As QMII usually celebrate Christmas at Marselisborg a contingent for the Royal Lifeguard accompany her and they are predominantly from Jutland, where Marselisborg is located.
However, as QMII is celebrating Christmas as a guest at a private manor, I doubt there will be guardsmen accompanying her. (In fact I expect the local Home Guard to provide some of the perimeter security.)

At present the guardsmen on duty have their quarters in the basement of the mansion at Amalienborg where QMII lives, but when Frederik becomes king, they will set up quarters at M&F's mansion. The rooms as well as the colour-chamber for the colours of the regiment are ready for that day.
And one of the first things that will happen, once it is announced that we have a new monarch is that the the grandest of colours of the regiment will be transferred to the colour chamber in M&F's mansion - overseen by Frederik and probably Mary as well.

And speaking of colours. The tune they play as a waiting-tune in the court-telephone is indeed: Here comes Jens with the colour. (Jens being the nickname for a Danish army soldier. Just as Tommy, Ivan, Fritz etc.)
It's a tune many of you will be very familiar with as it is also a salute. And as such you will hear it when members of the DRF arrive, say at the New Year galas.
 
Today 8 December:

"In one place in The Royal House of Denmark, you dream particularly about a white Christmas – and that’s in the laundry.

It’s not, however, about snow, but rather white tablecloths.
The Royal House of Denmark’s laundry has been located at Amalienborg for more than 75 years. Here, there are lots of things to attend to, as it’s at the laundry that the many tablecloths and napkins are cleaned, rolled and folded.
These days, the laundry is particularly busy getting ready for HM The Queen’s Christmas arrangement for the Court’s employees and The Royal House of Denmark’s close partners, which takes place every other year.
The laundry specializes in uniforms, table linens and household linens, and the employees handle up to a thousand sacks of laundry from the various courts every year. The longest tablecloth washed and rolled by the laundry is 16 meters in length and is used only for very special events. "

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl5VbCtDu-j/
 
iceflower said:
The video of December 4 shows how a special advent wreath was built at the carpenter workshop of the royal family at Amalienborg:


** instagram video **
Click to expand...

There is definitely a lot of intricate detail work that is involved in the making of the advent wreath.
In the end of the video, are all the candles green?
I was taught that the four Advent candles should consist of 3 purple and 1 rose (referred to as pink).
 
eya said:
Today 8 December:

"In one place in The Royal House of Denmark, you dream particularly about a white Christmas – and that’s in the laundry.

It’s not, however, about snow, but rather white tablecloths.
The Royal House of Denmark’s laundry has been located at Amalienborg for more than 75 years. Here, there are lots of things to attend to, as it’s at the laundry that the many tablecloths and napkins are cleaned, rolled and folded.
These days, the laundry is particularly busy getting ready for HM The Queen’s Christmas arrangement for the Court’s employees and The Royal House of Denmark’s close partners, which takes place every other year.
The laundry specializes in uniforms, table linens and household linens, and the employees handle up to a thousand sacks of laundry from the various courts every year. The longest tablecloth washed and rolled by the laundry is 16 meters in length and is used only for very special events. "

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl5VbCtDu-j/
Click to expand...

I loved watching this video. I had never seen the laundry room at Amalienborg Palace. :flowers:
 
Today 9 December:

"At home in Paris, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Joachim and Princess Marie have found the little Christmas elves, so now the family’s dog Cerise has really gotten into the Christmas spirit.
The Christmas elves have come along with the family from Denmark, and they spread Christmas cheer for both two- and four-legged family members throughout the month of December."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl762q7jnlm/
 
Thanks, Eya.

I've never seen this kind of nisser before. They look like squirrels or mice to me.

Nisser are usually translated into elves in English, because there is no equivalent to nisser outside Scandinavia AFAIK.
But nisser resembling elves, i.e. with the pointed ears is a very recent thing in DK, only about 80-90 years old.
In fact it's no more than 400 years since nisser began to be be personified in a human form and also depicted and that was during the 1600s.

Nisser started out, most likely in prehistoric times, as a kind of house-spirit or perhaps even a house-god.
Over time that spirit evolved and got a personality of it's own, so that around 1.200-1.000 years ago, the spirit was looking after the house/farm and the family and livestock living there - provided it was shown proper respect!
But if shown disrespect or mocked it could be a very vindictive creature, causing accidents, illness, fire and even death.

The creature was very old and it would take up residence in a house often looking after several generations of the family living there - but sometimes if a family moved, the nisse would tag along.
That has led to a Danish saying: Nissen flytter med = The nisse moves with you/tags along. = That if you have issues that are not addressed, say you being anti-social, these issues will follow you to your next address or workplace.

Anyway, during the 1600s the nisse was personified, and he (it was always a man) was dressed just like any other farmer at the time. This guy here is Norwegian though: https://andreasfaye.no/wp-content/u...kort_med_nisse_og_grot_18886771365-scaled.jpg

By the mid 1800s the way Christmas was celebrated both in DK and the rest of Europe took a dramatic change!
Now it became a cozy feast a family event, not least involving the children, rather than a new year celebration as it had been for I don't know how long. And that meant that the nisse changed as well. Now he became a pretty nice guy, okay, a bit grumpy from time to time also also prone to play mischief but otherwise harmless. - Nothing like the pretty creepy and scary guy of beforehand.
Overtime he married and certainly by the late 1940s he had loads of children as well. Usually not too bright though but full of pranks and pretty cute.

So over the past 450 years the nisse has developed from this somewhat fearsome dude: https://images-bonnier.imgix.net/fi...r-Niels-Gaardbo.jpg?w=1024&q=60&fit=crop&crop
To a real family-man: https://images.guloggratis.dk/listings/full/ddaec6de-3565-4d82-8d83-8748ef5fb1b1.jpg

These elvish-like nisser, who are singing for us, are from the early 1990s.
(They spend a couple of hundred years in USA, hence why they are singing Danglish:)
 
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Today 10 December:

"Pancake balls, soda pop and Christmas sweets were placed on the table when HRH The Crown Princess visited young cancer patients at Rigshospitalet the other day.

It’s one of The Crown Princess’s Christmas traditions to visit Kræftværket, which is a meeting place for young cancer patients. The gathering place gives them the opportunity to take part in age-appropriate joint activities and to be together with contemporaries."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl-fJAzjaCb/
 
What a nice visit. And I'm glad we got a video as part of the Christmas calendar. They all seem to enjoy it.
 
Today 11 December:

"Today, the third candle is lit in Advent wreaths across the country – including in The Crown Prince Family’s palace.

In the glow of the shining Advent candles, HRH The Crown Prince sends a Christmas and New Year’s greeting to Danish military personnel stationed abroad."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmBEJcsj9wU/
 
I notice Frederik is using matches, instead of a candle-lighter.
That the base of the advent-wreath is the one we saw the carpenters make.
And that Auld Lang Syne is played. - That may very well be a nod to Mary. On the other hand the DRF is very international, so it might just as well have been Queen Ingrid.

Because Auld Lang Syne in Denmark is more associated with funerals (often played on a saw-blade BTW, which emits a "crying" sound and almost always sung in dialect. West-Jutland dialect and close to the dialect my dad spoke. If it is to be correct, in DK you are actually not supposed to cross arms and take the hands of those beside until rather late in the song. See below.) and much less so with New Year.
We instead have a psalm that is used on New Years Eve right after midnight. Not that many of us actually sing it. Most are on the way out the door with the fireworks. Those who are not, are either busy texting friends and family or sitting listening to the sung that is played on TV.

First: Auld Lang Syne:

And then the psalm that is played on New Years Eve. Vær velkommen Herrens År = (roughly:) Welcome to (another of) the Lord's year.
 
Very interesting Muhler. We normally sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight and it can be emotional.
 
It is. ?

I glanced through the comments and there is this one:

najsen67
Tak for omsorgen - min datter er pt. i Letland og har vagt juleaften. Denne fine julehilsen fra HKH vil blive taget godt imod. Glædelig Jul til alle i den kongelige familie.
Who responds that his/her daughter is in Latvia right now and will be on duty Christmas Eve, so this greeting will be well received.

It's funny to see how many respond with the formal (and correct) address.
Informal you = du.
Formal you = De (always with a capital D).

There is right now a Danish combat battalion stationed in Latvia. We all know why...

It's also nice to see how many foreigners respond to these posts.
 
Today 12 December:

"The Christmas tree is decorated and the candles are lit in The Royal Mews at Christiansborg Palace, where HM The Queen’s 13 white horses live. Since 1994, in keeping with Prince Henrik’s wish, The Royal House of Denmark’s horses have been the Czech, dappled (white), princely horses called Kladrubers.
The Royal Mews is open for visitors and still a working building, where the employees, led by the Stable Master, include royal coachmen, stable functionaries and an assistant who takes care of and trains the horses every day. The Queen’s horses and training coaches can often be spotted in everyday life in the street scene of Copenhagen, when the horses train to move around in the traffic.
The horses are used for official events such as state visits, New Year’s levees, ambassador receptions, summer cruises, birthdays and anniversaries. And when such events take place in Copenhagen, at times when the coach is to be escorted by the Guard Hussar Regiment’s Mounted Squadron, an additional 52 Hussar horses are stabled in The Royal Mews at Christiansborg. It’s also in the Mews that The Royal House of Denmark’s various coaches, such as, for example, the Golden Wedding Coach and the finest royal coach, the Gold Coach, are kept."


https://www.instagram.com/p/CmDouJID-_f/
 
eya said:
Today 10 December:

"Pancake balls, soda pop and Christmas sweets were placed on the table when HRH The Crown Princess visited young cancer patients at Rigshospitalet the other day.

It’s one of The Crown Princess’s Christmas traditions to visit Kræftværket, which is a meeting place for young cancer patients. The gathering place gives them the opportunity to take part in age-appropriate joint activities and to be together with contemporaries."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl-fJAzjaCb/
Click to expand...

More photos from Mary's visit. Lovely!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmEi1yAsg3T/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
 
Today 13 December:

"It is Lucia Day, and throughout Scandinavia, the well-known melodies are heard from processions in the countryside and the city in honor of Saint Lucia, who was martyred in the early 4th century Roman Empire.

At Amalienborg, it is members of the Copenhagen Girls’ Choir who carry forth the light in Christian VII’s Palace and sing “Santa Lucia” in the palace’s Great Hall.

The tradition of walking in the Lucia procession on 13 December originates from Queen Ingrid’s native country, Sweden. After the Princesses Margrethe and Benedikte took part in a Lucia procession at The Swedish Embassy in Copenhagen in 1946, the tradition gradually spread to also become a Danish Christmas custom."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmGNbWIjWsp/
 
That's a neat house. ?

And Athena is becoming Grassiot more and more.
 
"Merry Christmas" was wished, drank mulled wine and ate homemade apple slices, when Her Majesty the Queen this afternoon invited the staff of the Royal House and close collaborators to Christmas onions in the Riddersalen at Christiansborg Castle
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was present at the Christmas event, who, together with the Queen and the congregation, watched an entertainment program with Copenhagen's Boy Choir, The Royal Lifeguard Tambur Korps as well as actor and singer Andrea Heick Gadeb erg who ended by singing "When you see a shooting star"

https://www.facebook.com/detdanskekongehus/posts/pfbid02FvEAEUzaaLgRhWdARDbTnCCyzsWG4sJPLSNTwq8FzKrGau1sFKb4G9XmySdvV3y4l
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKApWoDF_u/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
 
Today 15 December:

"In the office of the Master of Ceremonies in The Yellow Palace, there’s a very special object, which is adorned on top with a gold-plated miniature copy of Christian V’s crown.

It’s the Master of Ceremonies’ staff, which is used to mark the Master of Ceremonies’ special duty at The Royal House of Denmark’s major events. The staff was used as recently as last Friday, when HM The Queen received new ambassadors at Amalienborg.

It will be put into use again for the New Year – first at the grand New Year’s banquet on 1 January, and then for the New Year’s levees the following days. "

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmLXtKqDQhO/
 
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